A Rand Paul volunteer who stepped on the head of a liberal activist after she was pushed to the ground outside a U.S. Senate campaign debate in Kentucky was fired Tuesday, The Washington Post reported.

Tim Profitt was removed as Bourbon County campaign coordinator for Republican Paul and barred from future events following Monday’s incident in Lexington, which was captured by TV news crews.

Lauren Valle, a volunteer for the liberal MoveOn.org advocacy group, was seen being pushed to the curb and stepped on after she attempted to give Tea Party favorite Paul a fake award.

“The Paul campaign has disassociated itself with the individual who took part in this incident, and once again urges all activists — on both sides — to remember that their political passions should never manifest themselves in physical altercations of any kind,” Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton said.

Profitt said Tuesday that the incident was not as bad as it looked and blamed police for not intervening.

“I’m sorry that it came to that, and I apologize if it appeared overly forceful, but I was concerned about Rand’s safety,” he told The Associated Press.

Kentucky police said Tuesday that they were serving Profitt a criminal summons ordering him to appear before a district court judge in Fayette County.

Valle has vowed to pursue legal action, calling the assault “premeditated” and saying Paul supporters had identified her before the alleged attack took place.

“My memory of it is sort of that of a traumatized person,” she told The Washington Post. “I distinctly remember a blow to my head.”

When asked why her injuries did not preclude her from giving interviews following the assault, Valle said the pain did not kick in until “an hour and a half afterwards.”

“I was in severe shock,” she said. “I was certainly injured. If you have any questions about that, maybe watch [the video] again.”

Paul’s opponent, Democrat Jack Conway, also condemned the incident.

He said he hoped “steps have been taken to ensure this kind of thuggish behavior never happens again in this campaign.”